


The Little Things

by orphan_account



Category: Twenty One Pilots
Genre: Blow Jobs, Christmas, Christmas Fluff, Coming Out, Hospitalization, Intoxication, M/M, TOPFL Christmas Challenge
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-15
Updated: 2018-12-15
Packaged: 2019-09-18 12:27:54
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,528
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16995003
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: At Mark's Christmas party, Josh discovers he's an angry drunk.





	The Little Things

**Author's Note:**

> This is a Christmas fic I've been sitting on since 2016 and decided to finally finish and post this year. My Works in Progress folder is a mess.
> 
> [Russian Translation](https://ficbook.net/readfic/7705653)

He hadn’t planned to spend his Friday night drunkenly trudging through snowbanks, but Josh also hadn’t planned to walk in on his best friend sucking some guy’s dick.

“‘Come to a Christmas party Josh, it’ll be fun Josh, we’ll get raging drunk Josh,’” he mutters under his breath, tugging his reindeer sweater further down his torso. “Fuck, it’s cold.”

Josh has no clue where he’s going; all he knows is that he wants to be as far away from Mark’s house as possible. He’s pissed, that much is evident, and Josh really has no explanation besides maybe the fact that he’s an angry drunk.

It had been only hours earlier that Josh had arrived with a poorly wrapped present for Mark’s white elephant party and a six pack of fancy beers. This party had been something he had been looking forward to for weeks now, one, because Josh loved Christmas, and two, because he was going to get to drink and be social after all that time spent recovering from a long ass tour. (Oh yeah. Josh played drums in a band. They weren’t really that good.) 

(That’s a lie. They were frickin’ incredible.)

The tour, which consisted of one whole month of driving around Ohio and neighboring states, had been pretty successful, if Josh did say himself. He loved touring, absolutely adored it, because he got to see different landscapes and meet new, interesting people, and most importantly, he got to spend a crazy amount of time with his best friend, Tyler. And Tyler was a fucking genius.

Josh had known this the second they met, because Tyler was crazy, twitching on stage to attract the attention of drunk bystanders, and  _ god,  _ the pipes on that guy blew Josh away. The way he could scream and speak so fast without tripping up while still sounding graceful was mesmerizing. And the fact that Josh got to be in a  _ band _ with him had him overflowing with enough gratitude for a hundred different people.

Tyler had big dreams and aspirations and Josh knew together they were going to accomplish every little thing the singer had floating around in his head.

Perhaps the most annoying thing about Tyler, however, was the fact that he had a full head of fluffy hair and eyes that crinkled at the corners and a perfect sloped nose and a perfect set of crooked teeth and the most amazing laugh Josh had ever heard. And Josh had known he was in love the minute he had talked to Tyler until dawn that cold night.

But yeah. He was smart.

Anyways, Josh never got tired of being around his best friend, so seeing Tyler again was great news for him. And Tyler had been just as excited, practically jumping into Josh’s arms to hug him. “Bruh!”

Josh laughed as he hugged Tyler tightly back. “Hey there, bro. Haven’t seen you in forever.”

“Ugh, I  _ know. _ Thank God for Mark, huh?” he grinned the minute they had let go, and he reached over to fix Josh’s collar. “Nice ugly sweater. I couldn’t find one as artistic as that.” he gestured to his boring red sweater and black tie peeking behind the fabric. Josh rolled his eyes.

“You obviously tried harder than me.”

“Sure. Whatever.” Tyler pointed to the beer Josh had set down on the table. “It’s gonna be a good night tonight, huh?”

“Duh.” Josh had reached for a beer after that, his first one of many, and things went smoothly. He was giggly, constantly flashing smiles at Tyler who was only nursing one beer of his own, as he wasn’t exactly a drinker.

Josh had received a pair of velcro boxers, and everyone had laughed until Josh was on the floor dying about Tyler’s comment to wear them into the bedroom. (He also could not stop thinking about being with Tyler in the quote, “bedroom.” Yeah... he did that a lot.)

Honestly, thinking about it, Josh really isn’t sure how and when Tyler had found the time to suck some random party goer’s dick, and the worst part was that it was a friend of  _ Mark’s. _

Tyler’s lips, red and swollen, on his knees with his hands buried into the hips of a stranger, and the  _ sounds, _ god, Josh feels himself getting ready to vomit.

He hits the snow with a thud, his hands red and feeling like a thousand tiny needles are pressing into his palms. And right there, Josh pukes until there is nothing left.

He’s crying too, a mess of snot and tears running down his face. Josh hates himself for everything, but it probably doesn’t help that he’s drunk and found his best friend, the guy he thought was straight, the guy he had fallen in love with over two years of knowing him, giving a blowjob. Josh flops onto his back and spreads his arms and legs like he’s ready to make a snow angel, and stares up at the sky, his breaths bitter and bright in the cold. Josh is numb, his skin tingling, everything in pain. 

Suddenly, he no longer feels cold, but hot, hot to the point where he gets the desire to pull all his clothes off to give his skin some space. And so he does, pulling off his sweater, kicking off his shoes and socks and jeans, before lying back down in the snow.

Josh smiles: no, he laughs. Because he’s drunk and lonely and sad, and it’s all his damn fault. 

So he closes his eyes and goes to sleep.

 

* * *

He wakes up to flashing red and blue lights and several faces all speaking to him at once. Josh is swaddled in a thick, grey emergency blanket, getting stuffed into the back of an ambulance.  _ Merry Christmas,  _ he thinks miserably as he coughs loudly into his shoulder and blinks a couple of times. Josh feels like shit.

“Joshua? Are you okay?” A paramedic asks. Josh coughs again. “Sir, we’re taking you to the hospital.”

“Wha?” Josh is confused. He looks around, spots Mark and a few other familiar faces. He shivers, the doors of the ambulance slam shut, and there are hands on him.

“We’re going to put an IV okay? There’s going to be a slight pinch.” Sure enough, there is, and Josh jerks.

“Ow.”

“Just try to stay calm, sir. Your body temperature is extremely low. We gotta get you warmed up.”

He stays quiet after that, letting his eyelids flutter and the paramedics keep him warm. Josh knows he’s the biggest idiot out here. He wonders if any of Mark’s partygoers know that Josh is on his way to the hospital to be treated for hypothermia. He wonders if Tyler knows.

Tyler does know. He’s at the hospital when Josh arrives and is the first person the nurses let into the room. The tip of his nose is red as well as his cheeks and it looks like he’s been crying.

“Hey,” he says, resting a hand on Josh’s knee through the blanket. Josh smiles weakly.

“Thanks for coming so quickly. I honestly didn’t think anyone knew.”

“We knew. We could see the lights and hear the sirens. I think Mark was the one that found you; he’s outside waiting for the go ahead. I lied and said I was your brother.”

“Brother from another mother,” Josh replies teasingly, coughing into his elbow. He has an IV sticking out of his hand. “I’m still kinda drunk, aren’t I?”

“Yeah,” Tyler chuckles, “that’s okay, though. Josh, I’m so sorry. I didn’t know you left the house, and I promised I’d keep an eye on you tonight.”

“It’s okay.” It’s not okay. Josh wants to know who that guy was. He keeps telling himself to stay calm and stay quiet, but he  _ is _ still a bit tipsy and his filter is gone. “No, it’s not. Who was that guy?”

Tyler’s brows furrow. “Huh?”

“I saw you sucking some random asshole’s dick. I didn’t know you were gay.”

“I’m not gay!” He defends himself far too quickly and pulls away from Josh’s hospital bed. “That wasn’t me. I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“Yeah, it was, because that’s the reason I left the house.”

“No,” Tyler shakes his head, “that wasn’t me. I was in the living room with Mark, I swear. I’m an average looking guy, maybe that person just happened to look like me--”

“Ha.” Josh laughs wryly and crosses his arms across his chest. “I’m drunk, but that doesn’t mean I’m an idiot.”

“Well, we can have this conversation when you’re sober and out of the hospital. Tonight, just focus on getting some rest, okay? I’m really glad you’re okay.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Josh pouts. It makes him even more upset that Tyler is lying. Just because he was intoxicated didn’t mean Josh didn’t know what he saw.

Tyler leaves the room with promises to see him the next day and that’s that.

 

* * *

 

Josh has to stay in the hospital overnight just so the nurses can check his vitals and make sure he won’t die the second he leaves the comfort of the warm blankets. Tyler joins him the moment he’s given the chance, Mark at his side, with two cups of coffee from Starbucks.

“I brought you your usual.”

“Americano with an extra shot and a splash of coconut milk?”

Tyler rolls his eyes, despite the grin plastered on his face. “Yes, you pretentious dork.”

“I’m not pretentious because I like coconut milk instead of normal milk. Plus, I almost died last night, so you can’t make fun of me.”

“That’s true,” Mark worms his way into the conversation, settling down in the chair next to Tyler, “when are you getting out of here?”

“Today, hopefully. But let’s just keep this under wraps, okay? I don’t really want my parents to know.”

“Christmas is next week, dude. I don’t think keeping this from your parents is a good idea, especially when you get the hospital bill.”

Oh right. Josh forgot about that. He sips his coffee slowly and groans. “God. I’m such an idiot.”

“It’s not your fault,” Tyler tells him, his smile suddenly gone. His eyes flicker to Mark as he plays with the sleeve of his cup. “Mark, do you mind if I talk to Josh alone?”

“Sure.” Mark winks on his way towards the door, pausing to send Josh a smile of support. Josh was incredibly thankful for Mark, but considering it had been  _ his _ party Josh has gotten fucked over at, he was feeling a bit bitter.

Tyler stands up, stretches his legs, and begins to pace back and forth. “I want to say I got drunk last night, but I wasn’t.”

“So you willingly gave a guy a blowjob.”

“Do you have a problem with that?” Tyler raises an eyebrow. It’s hard to get a read on his current mood. Josh knows how he’s feeling. This whole situation feels so out of control. 

“I don’t have a problem with that. It was just... it was a lot to handle when I was drunk and feeling... kinda sad.”

“Why were you sad?”

“Because I  _ like you!” _ Josh throws his hands up in the air and pinches the bridge of his nose. “Even drunk, I like you. In fact, I probably like you more. And I freaked out, okay? I freaked out and there was a lot of alcohol in my body so I wasn’t thinking clearly and it really... it really pissed me off!”

Tyler blinks a couple of times, one of his hands outstretched to balance himself as he fumbles for the arm of a chair. His face is twisted in confusion. “You... like me?”

“Yes, I like you. Why do you think I was so eager to start a band with you?”

He frowns. “I thought... because we were friends.”

“Well, yeah, but also, because I wanted to spend time with you. That’s why I hate being away from you. Why we’re so close. Are you telling me you don’t feel the same way?”

“You can’t just drop all of this on me, Josh! It’s Christmas for fuck’s sake—" Tyler pauses to take a deep breath. “It’s not the season to be thinking about this. We’re supposed to be light and friendly, not stressing about life, enjoying our time off from traveling!”

Josh scoffs. He knows he’s being kind of immature about this, but he’s the one who ended up in the hospital, not Tyler. Josh has every right to feel this way. “I didn’t know I was such a burden to think about.”

“I didn’t know you only got close to me so you could get into my pants.”

His jaw drops. “You know that’s not true!”

“Whatever. Fuck you, Josh.” Tyler dumps his coffee into the trash can on his way out and slams the door behind him. Josh pushes his own off to the side and tries to push down the tears he knows are brimming his eyelids. It’s not fucking fair. It’s not like he  _ chose _ to have feelings for Tyler. He shouldn’t be getting punished for this.

Explaining what happened to Mark isn’t something Josh particularly wants to do, but when he walks in looking all confused, Josh knows he has to give some excuse. 

“Tyler had to go to his parent's house. Something about a family emergency.”

“Uh huh,” Mark doesn’t buy it, “he looked pissed, dude. Is everything okay between you two?”

“Just peachy. Can you bring the nurse in? I wanna get the hell out of here.”

His eyes flicker to Josh’s untouched coffee cup. “Are you sure, dude?”

Josh sighs loudly. It’s better to talk about these things, yeah? Not keep them in? Besides, maybe Mark could give him some advice. He had know Tyler a lot longer. “No.”

Mark clicks his tongue. “I’ll get the nurse, you can get discharged, and we can talk in the car. I brought you a change of clothes.”

“Thanks.” Josh smiles. Mark rolls his eyes and leaves the room.

 

* * *

 

“You like him?” Mark tries to clarify, his eyes, although in distraught, on the road. “Like, like him, like him?”

“Yeah, Mark. Like him, like him.” Josh rolls his eyes, feeling silly that he’s blushing. It wasn’t like they were in grade school; they were adults supposed to be having adult conversations. “I like him, like, a whole lot. And I have for such a long time. He wasn’t supposed to find out like this. I wasn’t supposed to drunkenly stumble into the snow and pass out.”

“It isn’t your fault, Josh. You were intoxicated. We should have been looking out for you. Despite what you and Tyler are going through, he still cares about you. He was freaking out when the ambulance arrived. I think he’s upset because he blames your near death experience on himself.”

“It was hardly a near death experience. I was in the hospital for one night.”

“Still. You know how Tyler is. He overthinks everything. Just give him some time to cool off and he’ll be back. You know what they say.”

“Nothing kills a man more than his own head.” Josh nods and clicks his tongue a few times. “It’s just frustrating. You know we don’t fight that often and of course, it has to be over something so... difficult to talk about.”

“You guys are both reasonable. I’m sure it’ll work out, okay? And I’m here if you need me.” Mark pats Josh’s knee in support. “You guys are both great friends of mine and I’ll do anything you need me to make you feel better. Besides. He never said he didn’t like-like you back.”

Josh chuckles with lackluster and looks out the window.

 

* * *

It snows on Christmas Eve. Josh should be happy, because he loves Christmas, and here he is, sipping hot chocolate in matching pajamas with his family as they watch movies on the Hallmark channel, but he’s not. Tyler hasn’t talked to him in four days and he’s beginning to get worried that he won’t be able to let “Tyler chill out” much longer.

“Josh,” Ashley bumps her brother’s shoulder against her own, flashing a smile, “you doing okay?”

“Yeah.” He blinks a couple of times. “I’m just spacing out. There’s a lot on my mind.”

“You know you can tell me anything, right?”

He forces a smile. “I know that. Really, I’m fine. If I wasn’t I wouldn’t be in here with y’all. I’d be moping.”

“I guess that’s true.” She kisses his shoulder quickly and pushes off the couch. “Want some coffee?” 

“Please.”

While she disappears around the corner into the kitchen, there’s a knock at the door. Josh’s father offers to get it, setting his cup of cocoa on the end table as he pushes himself up. Josh zones out, still thinking about Tyler, until his dad says,

“Josh, it’s for you.”

Josh looks up, adjusting his Santa hat so it's not falling into his eyes. His stomach twists when he realizes who it is.

His family isn’t worried, doesn’t know about the struggles the best friends have been having, so they don’t think it’s weird that Tyler showed up outside their house on Christmas Eve. Not even Ashley seems worried as she hands Josh his mug of black coffee after he’s pulled on his coat and slipped on a pair of shoes. After a promise to his family that he’ll be back soon, Josh closes the door and joins Tyler on the porch step.

“Hey,” Tyler speaks first, eyeing the warmth rising off of Josh’s coffee. Josh looks at the snow billowing down around them.

“Hey,” he says back.

“I know it isn’t the best time, coming on Christmas Eve, but I just had to talk to you.”

“We could have talked earlier, but I figured you needed time.” Or rather, Mark did. Josh had a habit of making a fool of himself.

“Uh, yeah.” Tyler sighs loudly and stretches his arms as he stares into the darkness of the neighborhood the both of them so rarely got to see these days with all the touring they did. “I’m so sorry I acted the way I did. I guess I just panicked hearing that you had feelings for me since I’ve... uh, kind of have had feelings for you too.”

Josh’s ears perk up. “Really?”

“Yeah. The way I acted was totally out of line. It was just a lot for me, I guess? Because I didn’t want to admit I had feelings for well, a guy, especially since that guy was you. Just, Josh,” he pauses, letting his eyes flicker to the sky, “you’re extraordinary. I don’t know how else to describe you. You make me so happy and when I’m not around you, I get so... anxious. I want to be near you. It just took me a while to admit to myself that was because I liked you, not because we were friends.”

“I feel the same way, actually.” Josh traces the rim of his coffee mug with his index finger, smiling ear to ear. “I’m kind of infatuated with you, really.”

“You’re all I think about.”

“You’re all I think about too.”

They share a smile, enjoying the Christmas weather, until Tyler scoots closer so their thighs are touching. He pats Josh’s knee.

“Is it okay if I kiss you?”

His stomach flips. “Please.”

Despite standing outside in the cold for who knows how long, Tyler’s lips are warm and full and soft. Josh tugs on the hem of Tyler’s coat to pull him closer until he can tuck a hand into Tyler’s pocket, his coffee discarded behind him. The cold is numbing, but it doesn’t compare to Tyler’s lips against his. He never wants it to end.

But it does, because Tyler smashes a snowball against Josh’s head, leaving him shocked.

“You’re it,” Tyler whispers.

“I can’t believe you just fucking did that,” Josh says back. For a second, it looks like he might forgive Tyler’s heinous crime, but of course, Josh isn’t about to take the high road when he can go low. He lunges towards the snow, packing together a snowball as Tyler starts laughing hysterically.

“You asshole!” Josh shouts at the top of his lungs, chucking the snowball with all of his strength. Tyler, still giggling, clutches his chest where the snow made impact and falls dramatically to the ground. Josh pelts him with a few more snowballs until he reaches Tyler’s side of the yard, dropping down into the snow next to him, his Santa hat landing with a soft thud between them. 

Tyler rolls over to straddle Josh, his cheeks rosy red from cold, fixes Josh’s hat back on his head and smiles softly.

“You’re the best Santa,” he murmurs, leaning down to kiss him again. Josh closes his eyes, letting the warmth of Tyler’s lips whisk him away to a different world.

“I love you,” he says.

“I love you too,” Tyler says back. 

Josh had always loved Christmas, but he thinks this one is the best yet.

When Christmas morning arrives, Josh gets a boyfriend: his greatest wish of all.

**Author's Note:**

> pahcheetah on tumblr :-)


End file.
